Valve seats are an important part of vehicle engines. The valve seat acts to form an airtight seal with intake and exhaust valves to improve the thermal efficiency of the combustion chamber. Since the valve seat comes into repeated contact with the valve and is exposed to exhaust gases, it is necessary that it withstand temperatures of between approximately 400 and 700° C., and be resistant to wear and oxidation.
Most valve seats in use today are manufactured by sintering a metal powder mixture then inserting this into the cylinder head. However, in using a sintering process, a high degree of hardness is not realized such that the valve seat is easily worn through contact with the valve. This may result in deterioration of engine performance.